Bluffin’ it!

Thursday, April 17 – Sunday, April 20

Bluff is an apt name for this little village. Houses and businesses sit under several tons of rock bluff. Bridget, Spike, and I walk around town this morning.

That’s the Twin Rocks Cafe in the photo below, where later in the day I order a Navajo pizza supreme on fry bread. When I first heard about fry bread, I knew I would love it. Anything described by the words “fry” and “bread” has to be good!

Adjacent to the cafe is the Twin Rocks Trading Post selling exquisite jewelry, blankets and art, as well as tourist items.

The architecture of Bluff is interesting and reminds one of its rich history.

Here’s a more modern structure in western style.

The crew and I motor eastward out of Bluff on Highway 162.

The sky competes with the landscape for attention.

This is Ute Mountain Indian Reservation land. A few miles out of town I notice a dirt lane heading in the direction of the San Juan River.

Since Bridget and Spike walked around Bluff streets with me as I took photos, I know they’re not up to hiking to the river. I vent the windows, lock up the Perfect Tow Vehicle, and leave them to nap. (They always have access to a water dish in the PTV.)

I hike down the lane and come across magnificent boondocks overlooking the river valley. However, no camping is allowed on tribal lands.

Spike would love a soak here . . .

Not to mention the mud, but the walk is too far for him. Better that he soak in his dreams!

The San Juan isn’t a very pretty river.

It’s muddy and slow moving. Any river is a magnet to me. I hear the honks of Canada geese and catch a glimpse of them as they flap their way, splashing, up stream and around the bend.

Walking near the river I come to a worn clearing by an overhang of red-and-tan striped rock. Graffiti indicates this is a party place or maybe a lover’s lane.

On the way back to the PTV I pause to survey this vista.

How beautiful is this place and this day!

I take several photos on this short hike. I wish I could show them all to you.

I hurry back to my two buddies who greet me with sleepy eyes.

We return to Sand Island Campground. Later we go back into Bluff to Twin Rocks Cafe so I can pick up a Navajo pizza to go!

Sitting at a picnic table next to the cottonwood trees and red rock petroglyph panel is an ideal setting for enjoying Bluff’s native cuisine!

rvsue

NOTE: During our stay at Sand Island the crew and I go north to Blanding and retrace part of the road that goes to Natural Bridges National Monument. Easter Sunday we take a leisurely drive to Hovenweep National Monument. More about that next time.

Sue, have you made a decision about your data plan when your Verizon contract is over? I have been looking and plans until I am blue and cannot make a decision. Even though Millenicom has raised their rates, they are still the best deal for 20GB of data each month at $90. Just not sure I would use that much. My estimate here are home is 10GB without any streaming or music downloads. Any idea how much you are using each month?

No, I haven’t made a decision yet. I have several months left on my contract. I’m not sure what my usage has been lately as I haven’t opened my Verizon account page in quite some time. It’s an ordeal and usually unproductive.

My contract is for 6Gs and I run over almost every month. I’ve stopped opening emails with lots of photos and I can’t go to readers’ blogs the way I used to. I’ve also cut back on reading online news.

I don’t know what browser you might be using but it helps a lot if you shut off/disable any video players that your computer might have on it. I was bumping up against my 5G limit every month until I did that. Now I read anything I want and usually only reach the 75% notice level a few days before my billing cycle. I do NOT download any movies – ever.

Connie & Mugsy described exactly what was happening. I disabled Shockwave Flash and suddenly had a LOT more Gs were available. You may have other Flash players, maybe even more than one; when you buy a computer anymore it comes with as many pre-installed headaches as you get from viruses.

Do you mean something like “click to flash”? Or something different? I have “click to flash” (or similar) installed and it makes it so that any “flash” items only load if I click on them. It’s very nice as of course I *never* click on flash ads, and if I click on a page with a flash video, that video will still not load unless or until I ask it to.

I have Millenicom and love it. Yes, it’s more expensive now (especially since I used to have the 3G USB plan), but boy is it nice to not have to worry about going over, and plus I now have the wireless router (the Pantech). It’s been great: The customer service, the device, and the connectivity. I “make up for it” by having a pay-as-you-go “stupid” phone instead of a more expensive smart phone (of course I could have neither and save more…)

Since it looks like Flash video is what’s being discussed, I’ll just add that the “click to flash” is a thing you add on to your browser (I have one on Safari and one on Firefox). Once you have it, any Flash videos will just show up on the page with a little Flash logo, but not start playing (or loading up). If it’s something you do want to see, you just click on it (right on the screen; no need to go anywhere else), and then it loads up and plays. I haven’t found a downside after having it for a couple of years.

I think Millenicom, even at the higher price, is still the best deal for fulltimers, or even just when traveling. 20 Gigs of wifi on the largest 4G network is probably worth $90/mo.

For the part timer, like me, something more complicated can serve. When not traveling, I cancel Millenicom and use a Republic Wireless Moto X smartphone. Their talk-only plan is just 10 bucks a month. It works over wifi if you’ve got it, but backs up to Sprint and then secondly to Verizon. That’s for voice only, but pretty cheap. They also have unlimited data plans that top out at $40 for 4G.

So, with $35 cable wifi at home, I can get a pretty complete service with the ten buck plan. When traveling 5 months of the year, the 10 dollar phone plan will work data off the Millenicom, and have cellular voice everywhere else.

If you have a grandfathered plan with unlimited data, a program like PDanet will allow you to attach your phone to your laptop by USB. A wifi tethering program like Foxfi is more convenient, but usually can be detected by the phone company and blocked. Usb seems to fly under their radar. Of course most phone plans with “unlimited” data are throttled after 2 Gig.

Inquiring minds want to know (or rather, are too senile to remember!)….is the Navaho fry bread pizza the same as a regular pizza, except the fry bread is used for the crust? Or is it different in other ways, such as the sauce, toppings, etc??

In Florida, I made fry bread for my inlaws, they looked at it and declared they were the same as elephant ears sold at their county fair LOL. However, I put a twist to their elephant ears and made Navajo tacos…they loved it. One of my best memories, picking clams and scallop at Charlotte Bay and, after, a clam bake with different sauces to dip them it….on Xmas eve. I’ve never had Navajo Pizza…I would have thought it’d be made with tortilla instead of fry bread…hmmmm. Never been to Bluff so enjoyed the pics and love the western stone house. I always wanted a house and/or hogan made with big blocks of sandstone with a wrap around porch…I’m dreaming. Happy Easter.

The sky competing with landscape photo is so exciting to me, how perfect that you posted it on Easter,an atmosphere brimming with energy…wow!Then to have spent the day peacefully driving with the crew,I’m so pleased with and for you.Awesome day here
(central NY)too,warm sun,friends celebrating,happy little fur and feather group all tucking in now.Ain’t life grand?

We’re getting really close to you. We’ll be in NM tomorrow by Carlsbad Caverns, we’ll check out that area. If we see you we’ll wave from afar. We won’t just “show up” if we see you. I think you’ll be way more off the main road that we travel. We’re excited about seeing NM, It looks beautiful. Keep up the great blogs, we’re learning from you.

“Close” is a relative term, right? Have a wonderful time in New Mexico! The crew and I went through that area in 2011, soon after starting the vagabond life. We didn’t go to the caverns…. camped at Brantley State Park. The lake was so low that the shoreline was barely visible from the campground. That campground holds a special place in my heart… It’s the location where I first dumped waste tanks!

We were describing our future lifestyle to the granddaughters. One of them asked about going to the bathroom. Once, I explained the black tank and it’s procedures, I got a collective “EEEEEEEWWWWWWW”. I don’t guess we’ll be having too many guests.

It’s probably a bread that appears in many cultures. I remember eating a German pastry, basically dough dropped in hot oil and then dusted with confectioner’s sugar. Can’t remember the name. They sell them in Helen, Georgia, a fake German town. (The town, not the Germans.)

Wait a minute… maybe it was a fake Swiss town. . . whatever . . . men in short pants with suspenders and knee socks, hefty women in peasant blouses . . . cuckoo clocks for sale . . . polka music … You get the picture.

Love the 4 corners area, although you are just a bit north of that now. Perhaps my favorite place in the world, but than again I have lots of favorite places. As always thanks for letting us tag along.

And don’t worry Spike ol’ boy. It’s spring and I have a feeling there is lots of soaking in your future in the next few months.

Hi, Badger… You wrote your real name once or twice but I can’t recall it.

My friend Chuck (of Chuck and Geri who comment here) drove me to Mesa Verde last spring and we also visited the Four Corners (where the sign says $5) for about 3 minutes. Apparently there’s more to see! Haha!

Sounds like you had the perfect Easter, out enjoying creation. My Easter was spent doing dishes, hauling glass and cardboard to the recycling place, and blowing out sprinklers. But at least the wine was good. 🙂

Happy Spring !
I was scrolling thru a blog I found — this guy has ideas of traveling communities of people among other things — cool guy — ANYWAY — he had a picture of a guy on a bike named Glen, in Yuma. Glen had a job and still got around on his bike. It’s about half way down the page on the link. I couldn’t remember the guy’s name that you met on a bike in the desert… and wondered if this was him. I couldn’t link to the pic separately, sorry.http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/
Have a great trip.

Well, I tried a search of your blog and each search result came up with only one result… even when I searched for “camp.” Eeeks… not really useful is it. I kept trying to think of a word to search for that would distinguish the guy on the bike — and after a few tries I thought of “spoke.” It found the post I was looking for.

We passed your way a few days ago and enjoyed Bluff as well… in fact took some of the same pics. After asking around in Bland and Bluff, I heard the best Navajo Tacos are served at the Twin Rocks Cafe… Their fry bread is simply yummy… Enjoy!!

I always loved southern Utah, but never saw Bluff. Now I am fired up to go! And Navajo pizza and tacos are definitely enticements! I had my first shared dinner with my neighbors here inthe park. It was pleasant, but I was 10 minutes late and the food was almost gone. Guess you can’t mess around here, these folks are serious about food. Then I took a long nap inthe afternoon heat. Now it is a beautiful cool evening and time to catch up with Sue and crew!

I ordered a bunch of the Wildlife viewing guides. I may be a little bit of an outlier since my wife is an animal behaviorist and has studied frogs and spider monkeys and rhesus monkeys and fish in Alaska and horseshoe crabs (whom she thinks are “cute” even when she feed them shrimp, which reminds me of the movie Alien more than anything) and it has sort of rubbed off on me as I have helped her tote her gear around sometimes. They are from the mid 90’s so I cannot be sure how up to date the information is. The project was coordinated by Defenders of Wildlife with input from BLM, USFS, and state agencies, among others. Each page lists one or sometimes two places on state land (including some state parks), BLM areas, USFS areas, Nature Conservancy land, scenic roads, etc. It lists times to see specific animals and lists of rare and usual species. The Montana one has 109 sites, including 11 in Yellowstone. Directions to each site seem very clear, and data includes size, nearest town and icons for camping, hiking, and other activities. I am happy to have them. Lots of nice pictures, but they have nothing on you.

Thanks for the review on the wildlife books! I gather you think they would enhance an RVer’s experience when touring the West. My thought was to feature them as I do the Benchmarks. Part of the fun of vagabonding is learning about the places one visits. The details you shared here are very helpful.

Good morning, Sue….Thank you for the tour of Bluff – it is beautful! Sad to see the graffiti, just wish more folks would stick to the “leave no trace” rule. Thanks to you and some of your followers, I have had a craving for Navaho pizza and Navaho tacos!!!! Sounds like they are both tasty. Too bad that I won’t be able to satify that craving until I can travel back to the SW! My mouth is watering as I write this…..

I have been keeping a journal, noting areas that I would like to visit on my next SW trip. Thank you so much for sharing, Sue. I would have never known that some of those places exist. I enjoy finding the off the beaten track places. The less people, noise, commercialism and NO tour buses – makes a trip all the better.

Hope Spikes gets to soak his little bones soon – even if the soak comes with a “spa” mud treatment! Safe travels – wishing everyone a great day!

Beautiful pictures Sue. I love the rock formations & their colors. It’s a pity that people feel the need to mar them with graffiti. I agree with you on the fry bread. It is delicious! My ex mother-in-law, a Chippewea Indian, made it frequently. Look forward to reading more soon. Safe travels.

Glad you like the pics. It is difficult for me to understand people who feel the need to paint their name on a rock on property that is not theirs.

What do they do? Get up and think, gee, I’m going down to Home Depot and get myself a can of spray paint and then I’m gonna’ find me a big rock and paint my name on it so anyone going to that place will be convinced that I’m a complete idiot.

Reminds me of when I would drive by the Great Salt Lake and see where people had arranged the small stones into their names or messages along the shore. At least with those, the next person that comes along can recycle the stones!

Hi Sue,
I have been following your blog for awhile, so much enjoyment.I to am planning my travels, Utah is my favorite place. I ordered the 2 benchmark maps, my heart is so full of joy I can hardly stand.I to am going with a CASITA, I am reading your blog for inspirtration,as well as acknowledge. Please list more must haves when booning,I am buying thru your sight,what a great blessing God as given to us thru you.Oh, yes I forgot,I live in one of the most beautiful places Ar. Ozarks,but I know there is much more to see of creation.Please tell, Wether your friend she to blesses me with her blogs to you,what a friend!

Sue, as I’ve been catching up on past posts, I remember where you often teared up in your life prior to this. I’ve been in that stage for a while now, crying at the end of a long day…a release after holding my breath for 8 hours. I can imagine that some day I’ll be crying tears of joy just taking in such beauty! And rather than hold my breath…it will be taken away. Bless you for showing me a future.

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I don’t have an Xbone here in the office, but I just now bought” both the
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Capital t WOULD WANT TO DOWN LOAD Gatorade Sports Performance
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The games include a single-celled organism included inside a sq .

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Meet the canine crew!

Roger (left) and Reggie (right)

What is the BLT?

The BLT is what I consider the Best Little Trailer, a 2011 17-foot Casita Liberty Deluxe which is the full-time home for me and my crew.

What is the PTV?

The PTV is the Perfect Tow Vehicle. It's a 2005 Chevy Express Van with a V-8, 5.3 liter engine and equipped with a 200-watt solar panel on the roof and two AGM batteries inside.

What is a blogorino?

A blogorino is a reader who opens up the comment section of this blog and writes a message. Blogorinos are kind and friendly and fun to know!